The present invention relates generally to a windshield wiper assembly.
Wiper assemblies for motor vehicles are secured to the vehicle body with a wiper support, a so-called plate bar, or a plate bar tube, when the wiper support contains elements made from tubes. The plate bar includes a motor plate bar, which supports a wiper drive with a wiper motor and a drive formed thereon.
Drive shafts of the windshield wiper are supported in wiper bearings, whose bearing housings are fastened to or formed on the ends of the plate bar. The plate bar is directly fastened to an automobile body with screws by means of the bearing housing or via mounting eyes or bosses formed on the plate bar and/or motor plate bar. In practice, the plate bars are made up of many components together. This leads to numerous interfaces with corresponding tolerances. In addition, attachment by means of screws is expensive, and the assembly costs are high.
In DE 198 29 320 A1, the above type of tubular plate bar is disclosed, which is screwed to the vehicle body by means of four attachment bosses.
In some cases, the wiper bearing is attached directly to the automobile body. This type of wiper bearing, which is attached to a front wall, is disclosed in DE 199 25 291 A1. The bearing housing of the wiper bearing has three support areas, a first one of which surrounds a longitudinal axis of the bearing housing. Second and third support areas are provided relative to the first, axially placed to the other end and are arranged relative to one another approximately diametrically to the longitudinal axis of the bearing housing. The first support area is formed by a flange, while the second and third support areas are formed as plug feet, which engage in pockets on the front wall. The support of the wiper bearing is fixed by means of a screwed nut, which is screwed on a threaded area on the bearing housing and presses a flange of the bearing housing against a holding angle. With this type of attachment variation, the assembly also is expensive, as the wiper bearings are attached individually.
According to the present invention, the plate bar is attached by means of at least one snap element. The snap element can be an elastic, flexible clamp with a ring-shaped receiving seat, which is open over a part of its periphery. A corresponding fitting piece of the plate bar is pressed in the receiving seat and held by the clamp. An assembly of the plate bar is simple, since additional components, such as screws or screw nuts, are not used. In addition to this savings on materials, the use of relatively expensive screw connections as attachment elements on the plate bar and vehicle body can be avoided, which reduces manufacturing expenses. Without the screw processes, the assembly time is shortened.
On the plate bar tube, the clamps are arranged appropriately in the region of the wiper bearing, whereby many variations are possible. The clamps require relatively little construction space, and for assembly, little free space. They can engage the plate bar tube in the direction of the longitudinal axis outside or inside the wiper support, so that different placement relationships can be considered in a simple manner. If the clamps lie between the wiper bearing, the plate bar tube can end at the bearing housing, thereby providing a short plate bar tube and a light plate bar.
The clamps also can engage the plate bar tube about the periphery with reference to various directions, thereby providing additional assembly variations. In order to save manufacturing costs, a form of the plate bar tube can be standardized by means of a determined number of attachment positions, so that the tubular plate bar can be used in the most number of vehicle types as possible. In addition, existing tolerances of a previously mounted plate bar can be equalized without problems by means of the snap connection, since these snap connections do not need to be as accurately placed as screw connections. In this regard, smaller tolerance requirements on the individual components exist, so that further manufacturing costs are saved.
Preferably, the clamp is connected at the outer periphery to the vehicle body, whereby the number of parts, likewise, is reduced. Depending on the space proportions, the clamp can comprise directly a part of the body sheet and be formed or soldered, riveted, or clipped on the auto body. In the assembly, the plate bar simply is pressed into the clamp, whereby eventual small subsequent readjustments are possible. This simple assembly is also advantageous in the case of repairs, since components to be replaced can be removed quickly.
In one embodiment of the invention, a support is mounted on the vehicle body, which on its free ends has the shape of a half-shell, in which the corresponding fitted part of the plate bar is inserted. The clamp is moveable and can be pressed by hand or with the aid of a device over the half-shell and the fitted part, for example, the plate bar tube, whereby advantageously, various mounting directions are possible. The previously-mounted plate bar can be oriented in the assembly before it is fixed by the clamp.
In order to achieve a connection with low oscillation, the clamp or the fitted part of the plate bar is surrounded by an elastic insulating material, preferably rubber. The decoupling element is premounted as a component. Alternatively, the element in the receiving seat of the clamp or on the fitted part of the plate bar is injection-molded, thereby reducing the number of parts. Also, in this case, the assembly time is shortened, and sources of error, for example, incorrect placement or tilted components, are eliminated.
In practice, the receiving seat of the clamp and the fitted part have a circular cross-section, so that the plate bar rotates about the tubular axis and can be oriented. However, it is also advantageous if the cross section has a shape other than that of a circle, for example, an elliptical or polygonal shape. In this manner, a form-lock between the clamp and the fitted part is achieved, so that rotational moment can be overcome.
In the above-described variations of the invention, the fitted part and the clamp are mounted under the effect of force. If the connections are to be loosened, a further form of the invention provides that the ring-shaped cross-section of the fitted part has two opposite level or smooth areas with a distance between them that is smaller than the assembly slot of the clamp. The fitted part fits without or with a smaller force with the smooth cross section side through the assembly slot and after joining, is interlocked through a rotational movement of about 90xc2x0. In addition, a pressing between the clamp and the fitted part can be achieved by means of a minimal, smooth shape transverse to the assembly slot upon the rotational movement with minimal force.
In a further form of the present invention, an attachment element is arranged fixedly on the body of the vehicle. A head is formed on a free end of the attachment element. A corresponding counterpiece that is connected with the plate bar is pressed onto this and engages there. The counterpiece is an uncoupling element, which upon manufacture of the plate bar is injected and placed in the plate bar. The head and the counterpiece can be so formed that they allow various degrees of freedom for various orientations for the plate bar.
With a first form and second form, the head is spherical or ball-shaped. It is supported in a spherical seat so that It has three degrees of freedom, and it can be guided in two opposite guide grooves of a longitudinal groove, so that it still has a translatory degree of freedom to the three rotatable degrees of freedom. The head of the attachment element can also have two parallel support surfaces and can be guided between a front surface and a support surface of the counterpiece. In this manner, the attachment element can be oriented in a universal plane within a distance between an outer peripheral surface of its head and an inner peripheral surface of a receiving chamber of the counterpiece, or within a free space between the attachment element and the counterpiece, so that it provides two translatory degrees of freedom in the provided limits. Additional structure variations exist when the various forms of connection are combined with another upon construction of the plate bar.